Board Members
Governing Board Members of PTSD foundation
Dr Mathew Samuel
Dr Mathew Samuel is currently Clinical Director of WA Centre for Trauma Treatment and Research Centre based in Nedlands.
After completing undergraduate medical studies in India, Dr Samuel undertook postgraduate studies in both psychiatry and old age psychiatry in Perth. He received his FRANZCP in 2007, and since that time has worked as a private psychiatrist at Hollywood Medical Centre. Dr Samuel was also Clinical Head of Old Age Psychiatric Services at Fremantle Hospital and the chair of Faculty of Old Age Psychiatry of WA. He was also Director of Fremantle Mental Health Services for 18 months.
Dr Samuel has interests in training the next generation of psychiatrists. He is a Clinical Senior Lecturer (Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience) at The University of Western Australia. He has additional adjunct associate professor positions at University of Notre Dame Fremantle.
During 2007, he was the inaugural Head of Psychiatry at Notre Dame University, where he was responsible for establishing the clinical curriculum for psychiatry.
He is a past Chair of Psychiatry Advisory Committee at Hollywood Private Hospital from 2014 until 2020 and Deputy Chair of Medical Advisory Committee.
In the last 5 years, Dr Samuel initiated rTMS to private patients by bringing in Neurostar to Perth and also has been behind the very successful Master Class in Psychiatry from 2016 onwards.
Mark Folkard MLA
Mark was a decorated Police Officer for over 27 years and has worked tirelessly in the community and has firsthand experience of the work conditions first responders face every day. Mark was a finalist for WA Police Officer of the Year for his work engaging with community organisations to help combat youth disadvantage and received numerous commendations for my work in crises and service in East Timor.
In 2017, Mark was elected to the WA Parliament as the Member for Burns Beach and has continued to raise awareness about PTSD and has recently seen the introduction of the Police Amendment (Medical Retirement) Bill in 2019 to help officers leave the force with dignity after being medically retired. Mark was re-elected in 2021. He continues to volunteer as a surf lifesaver and is committed to making our community more prosperous for everyone.
Prof Chris Lee
Chris has worked in private practice for 25 years. Alongside this private work, he is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia and an active educator of his peers.
Before entering private practice, Chris worked as Senior Clinical Psychologist for the Health Department for many years and he continues to consult on treatment programmes for personality disorders.
Chris runs a number of approved workshops for other therapists including treatment approaches to PTSD, treating personality disorders, DBT, EMDR and Schema Therapy.
Renee Sapelli
Renee Sapelli (formerly O’Callaghan) is an experienced lawyer, having honed her skills practicing across a variety of areas before deciding to work more specifically in Family Law. Renee has an outstanding ability to identify potential issues early in the legal process and provide comprehensive solutions with a minimum of fuss.
Renee is motivated by a desire to allow her clients to move on with their lives as quickly as possible, achieving a resolution which is reasonable and cost-effective. With a commercial background, Renee will often employ a common-sense approach in order to avoid costly litigation.
Renee maintains her friendly and compassionate personality whilst ensuring she is informative, clear and direct.
Renee always strives for her clients to walk away satisfied with their resolution, a better understanding of the legal process and greater peace of mind.
Steven A. Windsor
Steven is a Chartered Certified Accountant with almost 20 years’ experience and currently works as a Business Advisory Manager for Pascoe Partners Accountants in West Perth, Western Australia, helping small to medium businesses grow and meet the dreams and goals of their owners.
Following an eight year career in the Inland Revenue in England, Steven qualified as an Accountant and moved into International Corporate Services in the Isle of Man, where he spent over 12 years providing company & trust formations, corporate director services, finance & banking, accounting & tax and business advisory services to international based clients before moving to Australia in 2012.
In addition to his passion for helping business owners, Steven loves to spend his Saturday mornings as a palliative care volunteer at Bethesda Hospital in Claremont putting his Liverpool sense of humour to good use.
When Steven heard about the PTSD Research Foundation, and saw how passionate the other board members were in providing very much needed help to those in desperate need, he wanted to be a part of this exciting project and felt privileged to be accepted onto the board.
When Steven heard about the WA PTSD Foundation, and saw how passionate the other board members were in providing very much needed help to those in desperate need, he wanted to be a part of this exciting project and felt privileged to be accepted onto the board.
Kate Major
Kate is an Associate at Tindall Gask Bentley in West Perth.
After completing a Law and Commerce degree at the University of Western Australia and being admitted to practice, Kate gained experience across multiple practice areas before settling into family law.
Through her work in family law, Kate has seen the effect that mental health and PTSD has on people and their families. She is driven to support and improve outcomes for sufferers and families, and welcomes the opportunity to be involved the Foundation’s important work.
Kate is a volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House and has served as chair of an alumni association.nto the board.